A life coach is a professional who helps individuals to achieve their full potential or some desired goals. Even though you don’t have to get a life coach certification to practice as a life coach, it’s recommended to get one. According to the international coaching federation, more than 90% of professional life coaches have a legit life coach certification issued by a renowned school.
Benefits Of A Life Coach Certification Program
Becoming a certified life coach has hundreds of benefits. If you get a legit life coach certification from a well-known organization, both your personal and professional lives will thrive. Here are Some of the biggest benefits of life coach certification programs.
Invest In Yourself
As a life coach, you probably know the importance of investing in your personal development. If you complete a life coach certification program, you get an opportunity to change and motivate yourself, better understand your passion, and explore yourself in new ways. In your certification program, you will learn new techniques and tools that will allow you to improve yourself, even before your paying clients.
Join A Coaching Community
Life coach certification programs are not just about education and training. These programs are an amazing opportunity for you to create relationships with other coaches. These coaches can help you grow your life coach business. Plus, they are a great source of mentoring and information over time.
Grow As An Expert
When people search for life coaches, they usually look for some specific things, such as testimonials & positive feedback, previous experience, and your philosophy. Therefore, if you are just starting as a life coach, few people will consider you an expert. However, if you have earned a life coach certification from a reputable organization, it will be easy to earn their trust.
Improve Coaching Skills
To help other people achieve their goals, you must know what works and what doesn’t. If you want to be an effective life coach, you should have some innate skills and abilities. Plus, you have to learn some additional coaching techniques and tools according to your niche. Completing a life coach certification program helps you to be a more effective coach. Plus, you will learn useful coaching techniques and tools under the supervision of an expert coach.
5 Best Life Coach Certification Programs
Now the real question is, which life coach certification program is best for you? Thousands of life coach programs are available out there. Selecting a single program among these options is quite a puzzle. Before investing your money into a program, you must do your homework and select a certification that will suit you best.
Here are 5 of the best life coach certification programs of all time:
Ipec – Institute Of Professional Excellence In Coaching
iPEC is one of the most popular organizations for life coaching certification programs. This organization provides you with all the knowledge and training you need to start a business as a life coach. Plus, iPEC also teaches you “how to run a life coach business?” and “how to target potential clients as a life coach?”
Because of its effectiveness, the iPEC coaching program is one of the most expensive programs available out there. Its whole course costs about $11,950. For your convenience, you can split it into three payments, apply for monthly payments and also get an iPEC loan.
This program’s tuition includes access to the iPEC library, where you can get different coaching techniques and tools and use them on your clients. Plus, iPEC offers a live session after every three months, allowing you to learn directly from a certified life coach. Other than that, this program also includes knowledge about marketing, branding, and life coach business.
Pros
- Library of Resources
- Live Learning Modules
- ICF Accredited
- Three Credentials with One Program
Cons
- Not Self-Paced
- Expensive
Coach
Another life coach certification program that deserves a spot on our list is CoachU. This organization has been around since 1992. CouchU offers a CEFPT life coaching program that teaches you everything about life coaching in over 6 days. This ICF-accredited course takes place through teleconference classes.
CoachU CEFPT program can cost about $5100. The organization also provide several discounts, such as bundled discount and early bird discount. To increase your knowledge, you can combine the CEFPT program with the professional essentials program, and both courses will cost up to $8400 if purchased together.
CouchU offers online registration and monthly programs. The CEFPT course covers several topics, including practical application, interview skills, coaching mindset, guiding principles, ethical coaching, and many more. The main focus of this program is to build your coaching skills, and it provides several opportunities to practice your coaching skills on other students.
Pros
- Short-Term Program
- Can retake These Programs
- ICF Accredited
Cons
- No Life Coach Business programs
Institute For Life Coach Training
This program is split into four modules, such as foundations, coaching ethics, coaching skills, and core competencies. To complete this program, you’ll need to pass each module by passing the exam and attending the minimum percentage of the classes. Most students complete this program in two years. However, if you complete this course quickly, you will get a degree of flexibility.
The tuition of this two-year course can cost about $7700. If you pass all four modules, you will get a certification as a PCC – Professional Certified Coach. Because this course is an ACTP (Accredited Coach Training Program), it is quite intense and will set you up for continuous knowledge and years of success.
According to the ILCT official website, this program requires 130 training hours and 500 hours of coaching experience. Plus, you’ll need to sign up for certain classes at certain times on specific days. You can consider this course as a college degree and commit at least four hours per week.
Pros
- ICF Approved
- Most Intensive and Comprehensive Coaching Program
- Free Elective Programs
- Teaches About Life Coach Business
Cons
- Takes Up to Two Years to Complete
Udemy – Professional Life Coach Certification & Guide
There are several professional and experienced life coaches available on Udemy that provide different life coach certification programs. Our favorite one is Professional Life Coach Certification & Guide by Joeel and Natalia Rivera. This program is focused on several powerful life coaching techniques and tools regarding to different niches.
If you have a limited budget, the Professional Life Coach Certification & Guide is the best pick for you. This whole program costs less than $100, making it the most inexpensive life coach certification program on our list. In addition to life coaching tools and techniques, this course also teaches about neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
This program polishes your communication techniques and teaches you how to maintain boundaries, set expectations, and overcome your fears. Plus, with the help of this program, you’ll learn how to target your ideal clients and thrive in your life coach business. By completing this program, you will earn a legit life coach certification from Transformation Services.
Pros
- Most Inexpensive Life Coach Certification Program
- Short and Precise Course
- Often on Sale for Less Than $20.
Cons
- Not In-depth Course
- No Live Classes
CTA – Coach Training Alliance
Last but not least, we have the Coach training Alliance. This organization offers a reputable coaching program that is both effective and affordable. The international coaching federation approves this course. Once you earn your basic CTA life coach certification, there are several options to niche down or specialize even further.
Compared to other ICF-Accredited certification programs, this one is the most inexpensive. The whole program costs about $3843. The coach training alliance also offers additional payment methods, such as monthly, three-month, and seven-month payments.
This program can take up to 22 weeks, and you will be a certified life coach within six months. It includes fifty CCE hours, ten coach-to-coach sessions, and twelve group mentoring sessions. The main focus of this program is to improve your coaching skills, build your own life coach business, and market yourself. Plus, this course also includes private forum access and a virtual classroom for additional support.
Pros
- Inexpensive ICF-Accredited Program
- Teach about Both Coaching and Business
- Several Various Training tyles
- Live Sessions
Cons
- Limited Number of Participants
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several life coach certificate programs to choose from. All these programs cover the fundamentals of coaching and allow you to be an effective life coach and communicator. In addition, some unique programs also offer PTP coaching opportunities and business-focused training.
Before selecting a life coach certification program, we recommend considering some things, such as time period and cost. Some programs are short-term and can be completed within two months, while others are more intense and long-term and are stretched over to nine months and more.
Another thing to consider is the cost of a life coach certification program. A more comprehensive and effective program will cost more. For instance, the iPEC program costs more than $11000. In comparison, most Udemy courses cost under $200. Remember that inexpensive life coach certifications won’t cover all aspects of the life coach business.
